Laid off sysadmin arrested for threatening company's servers

11.11.2008
A systems administrator was arrested in New Jersey Monday for allegedly trying to extort money and even good job references out of a New York-based mutual fund company that had just laid him off.

Viktor Savtyrev, of Old Bridge, N.J., was arrested at his home Monday morning. He faces two charges under the federal cyber extortion statue. Savtyrev, also known as Victor Savturev, had an initial hearing in in Newark, N.J. Monday afternoon and is scheduled for a bail hearing on Thursday morning, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto.

Savtyrev was employed as a systems administrator for an unnamed mutual fund company in New York City until he was let go, along with nine other employees, on Nov. 5. All of the laid off workers were given a severance package, according to a criminal complaint filed with the courts.

"This is important, especially at this time of layoffs and financial difficulties, because we're making it clear that people can't take their frustrations out on companies and employers," said Assistant . "This arrest should also send a message to other companies that extra vigilance is important right now."

Late in the morning of Thursday, Nov. 6, Savtyrev allegedly used a account to e-mail the company's general counsel and three other employees, saying he was "not satisfied with the terms" of his severance, according to FBI Special Agent Gerald Cotellesse in the complaint. Savtyrev allegedly threatened to cause extensive damage to the company's computer servers if they would not increase his severance pay, extend his medical coverage and provide "excellent" job references.

The system administrator also threatened to alert the media after attacking the server.